The Gospel According to John

Biblical Research Monthly
June, 1956
Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment Seventeen)

THE BREAD OF LIFE

In our last study we considered Christ's feeding the five thousand men miraculously and His walking on the water as His disciples and He were returning from the east side of the sea of Galilee to Capernaum (John 6:1-21). In the present study we shall examine the sequel of the feeding of the multitude.

In 6:22-24 we see that the multitude on the day following the feeding of the five thousand were seeking Jesus and could not find Him. They knew that there was but one boat in which Jesus and the disciples had come and in which the disciples alone left for the west side, whereas Jesus remained. Since the multitude could not find Him anywhere, they concluded that He in some way had returned to Capernaum. They, therefore, got in boats and crossed the lake in search of Him.

When they found Him, they engaged Him in four short dialogues.

Four Dialogues

The first of these talks is recorded in verses 25-27. The people asked Him, "Rabbi, when camest thou hither?" Knowing the human heart and the motive prompting every action, Jesus replied, "Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves and were filled." Then He urged them not to work for the physical food, but for that which abides unto eternal life and which the Son of man alone can give.

In the next dialogue (vv. 28,29) they asked Jesus, "What must we do, that we may work the works of God?" His reply was "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." Obviously, this statement was a play on words. The people wanted to know what they had to do in order to work God's work. Jesus spoke of the one and only thing that is acceptable to God: namely, man must believe on Him, the Lord Jesus, who alone can save. Since they were speaking of working to please God, and since faith in Jesus is the only thing which will please the Almighty, the Lord therefore spoke of faith in the terms of the topic of their conversation. An examination of all of the Scriptures bearing on salvation shows that men must believe on the Lord Jesus and receive Him as the redeemer in order to be saved. Thus there is perfect agreement between this statement and the rest of the Scriptures.

Although He had fed them miraculously the day before, they asked Him what sign He would perform in order that they might believe Him. If we read between the lines, we see that they were wanting another free meal, but they covered their design by the use of pious language—the language of a truth-seeker. That this interpretation is correct is evident from what they then said to Him: "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat." According to the historical account, God gave Israel the manna every day except on the Sabbath. Jesus had fed them the day before. Their calling His attention to what God did through Moses was a strong hint for Jesus to feed them miraculously every day.

Jesus immediately reminded them that the manna given to the Hebrews in the wilderness was not the true bread out of heaven. The real bread out of heaven, asserted Jesus, comes down out of heaven and gives life—spiritual, eternal life.

Out of this conversation grew the fourth dialogue (vv. 24-40). Still being dull of spiritual comprehension and having their hearts fixed on the physical food, they said, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." In reply our Lord said, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." Then Jesus called their attention to the fact that they had seen Him—had had a sufficient amount of evidence to convince any honest heart as to who He was—yet they still believed not.

At this point the Lord reminded His audience that all whom God gives Him come to Him and that He will in no wise reject anyone who comes to Him. The Father gives to the Son all honest truth-seekers, who desire only doing the will of God. The fact that they rejected evidence and refused to believe was proof that they were not among those given to our Lord by the Father.

The Lord assured His audience that all who would come to Him He would raise up at the last day: "For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (vs. 40).

Discourses on the Bread of Life

What we have just looked at, verses 25-40, constitutes a series of dialogues. What we are now to look at, verses 41-65, are three messages on the bread of life which were probably delivered in the synagogue at Capernaum. The first of these is found in verses 41-51; the second is given in verses 52-59. Finally, the last one is found in verses 60-65.

Let us examine the first one of these discourses. According to verse 41 the Jews, the opponents of Jesus, murmured because He declared that He was the bread which came down out of heaven. They asked, "Is not this Jesus whose father and mother we know; how is it that He says He is come down out of heaven?"

In reply to these questions, Jesus delivered His first message in verses 43-51. He began His discourse by exhorting them, "Murmur not among yourselves; no man can come to me except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day." In other words Jesus says, "Don't bother yourselves about what I said; no man can come to me except God draw him, for it is written in the prophets, 'They shall all be taught of God.'" This quotation is from Isaiah 54:13. An examination of the original context of this quotation shows that Isaiah was talking about the people who will be born in the Millennium, and who will not be deceived by Satan, but will have their faces turned to God and will be eager for truth. Thus, God illuminates their minds and their hearts and causes them to accept the truth and to obey it. As an illustration of one who is taught of God, let us notice Nathanael (John 1:43-51). He wanted truth above everything else. God inclined his heart; and, as soon as he laid his eyes upon Jesus, he recognized Him as the Son of God and King of Israel. As another excellent example of what is meant by "They shall be taught of God," let us notice Lydia, of whom we read in Acts 16:11-15. The Apostle Paul was doing the preaching. God opened her heart to give heed to the things which were spoken by Paul. She had an honest heart; she wanted truth; God knew those facts. He, therefore, opened her heart, gave her spiritual illumination. She saw the truth, accepted the Lord Jesus, and was saved. What God did for Lydia He will do for anyone who wants the truth. God gives the spiritual illumination and inclines the heart of honest truth-seeker's. Thus, the Lord teaches them and draws them spiritually and through the preaching of the Word.

Jesus again reiterated the thought that He was the bread of life that had come down out of heaven to give life to the world. He concluded this discourse by saying: "The bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world" (51b).

This last statement stirred up opposition and resentment on the part of the Jews against Christ, who began to strive one with another, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" their having word-battles about this statement was the occasion of the second discourse recorded in verses 52-59. The Jews took Him literally and thought that He was insane. When, however, we note the circumstances under which Jesus spoke, what He said becomes evident. Let us remember that this season was the Passover, and that the Pascal lamb was slain and the blood was placed upon the door-post at the entrance to every Jewish home. Each household had to eat of the Pascal lamb. Moreover since these opponents had been fed with the bread and fishes the day before, they were thinking in terms of eating. Jesus knew that the Passover lamb was typical of Himself and was a yearly reminder that in order for men to be saved, they would have to come to Him, believe on Him, and accept Him as their Passover lamb, whose blood shields from all wrath those seeking refuge behind it, as in the case of the Passover. Having, therefore, the Passover lamb in mind and having also His feeding of the people the day before fresh in His thoughts, the Lord Jesus said that He was the true bread that came down out of heaven and that they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood or they would have no life in them. Jesus could not be speaking literally, under these conditions. He was using a figure of speech, paronomasia. He, therefore, spoke of accepting and receiving Him in terms of the eating of the Passover lamb and of their eating of the food which He had miraculously and symbolically provided for them the day before.

To interpret this language as referring to the eating of the Lord's supper—partaking of the loaf and the cup—is to ignore all the facts of the context and to impose upon the passage something that it does not say. "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father," Jesus declared, "so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me." The man Christ Jesus our Lord lived because of the living Father. Thus, those who accept Him live in a spiritual sense because of Him and through His power and might. This message Jesus delivered in the synagogue at Capernaum, as we see in verse 59.

The occasion of our Lord's delivering His third discourse on this occasion is set forth in verse 60: "Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" Many of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, who doubtless had left their vocations and were following Him from place to place, were indeed carnal, could not understand what He was talking about, became offended and began to withdraw from Him. There was no little murmuring among the disciples. Jesus asked them if what He said caused them to stumble.

Jesus said in substance: if they become offended at His saying that He was the bread of life and had come down out of heaven, what would they say or how would they act if they should see Him ascend into heaven—that is, go back to glory after His resurrection? The implication is that some would believe and receive Him, but the bulk of them would reject even such clear evidence. Jesus concluded this message by saying, "For this cause have I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it be given unto him of the Father."

The Result of the Messages—
The Unsympathetic Withdrawal from Jesus and Association With Him

In verses 66-71 we are told that many of His disciples went back home and engaged in secular pursuits, in which they had been engaged before they began following Him. Then Jesus turned to the twelve, whom He had appointed as apostles, and asked if they were intending to go away too. Simon Peter, as usual, spoke up and said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." Then Peter reaffirmed his faith, and that of the other apostles, in Jesus by saying that there was no one to whom they could go because He was the Holy One of God. Moreover, Jesus declared, "Did not I choose you the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" In referring to the one who was an adversary, He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, one of the twelve, who was chosen by Jesus to accomplish the dastardly crime of betraying Him in order that He might be crucified.

The more we study this marvelous chapter, the more wonderful it becomes. The one concern that everyone should have in this message is "Have I, from the depths of my heart, a desire for truth and nothing but the truth, and am I willing to accept it?" If so, God will illuminate the mind and heart and enable one to see the truth. Everyone seeing the truth and believing comes to the Lord, who will in no wise cast him away.